Unlike the clock tower of yesteryear, this year’s structure is just temporary: A permanent clock tower will be built for the 2022 Fair – the event’s 100th anniversary, Fairplex spokeswoman Renee Hernandez said in an email.

Until then, one will be constructed each year that reflects that fair’s theme.

This year’s wood-like edifice, which is being called Clock Tower Plaza, is decorated with vintage license plates and a Route 66 poster. Atop each side is a clock.

The temporary tower is located in the Route 66 Marketplace, next to the Hot Dog on a Stick booth and not far away from Millard Sheets Art Center.

Standing a couple of feet in front of it Friday afternoon was John Velky, who was a bit bewildered as he looked up at the structure.

When asked if he recalled the tower, Velky said, “It seems like I do, but it’s been a while since I’ve been here.”

Just then his wife, Debbie, walked over. He asked her if she remembered the clock tower. Without hesitation, Debbie Velky said yes.

“You were used to seeing it here every year, and it was odd it wasn’t there anymore,” she said.

“The structure wasn’t meant to be permanent,” he wrote in an email. “So it was completely removed during those two days before the fair. It wasn’t a choice to tear it down, it had to be done for safety reasons.”

The thought was that it would be rebuilt some day, he said.

Miguel Santana, hired in January 2017, said he heard a lot about how the clock tower was used as a meetup spot during the fair. He knew it had to make a comeback.

Debbie and John Velky reside in Lake Havasu, Arizona but lived in the area for years. They’re in town this weekend visiting family and decided to stop by the fair.

Once he realized today’s tower is different, memories of the original tower, which stood taller, came flooding back for John Velky.

“I can remember when I’d take my kids, and this is where we’d meet them when they’d take off,” he said. “Everybody knew about” the clock tower.

The Velkys said they were happy to hear the tower was returning.

“Everything has changed so much at the fair,” she said, adding that it’s nice to add a little nostalgia.

Only a very few may know of the edifice’s origins.

“Back in the early 1950s, the structure was referred to as the toilet building because its original intent was for a restroom, which were located at the base of the clock tower. The actual clock (feature) was a last minute addition the original restroom building,” Richards said.

According to Richards, lore has it that the clock tower was modeled after a structure from the Paris World’s Fair.

Over time, he said, it became a symbolic meeting place for fair guests and the saying, “Meet me at the Clock Tower,” was derived.

To celebrate its return, Fairplex is asking is users to use the hashtag #MeetMeAtTheClockTower to share their memories on social media platforms.